I need some major help!

talk2mejjv

talk2mejjv

Small Fish
#1
May 5, 2006
39
0
0
#1
I need someone to take me under their wing and tell me what to do. I'm so confused. I need step by step directions or I feel like I will never get anything done. Someone please take the time to tell me exactly what to do without harming my fish. My water condition sucks and I need help fixing it. Right now, my conditions are as follows (according to testing strips):
pH (between 7.8 and 8.4) -Hard to tell with strips
Nitrite .5
Nitrate 80
Total Hardness 75-soft
Total Alkalinity 300- high

Someone please help me. My stock of fish can be seen below. What do I do? Any suggestions? Thanks in advance and I appreciate everything. This site is so helpful.

P.S. Treating water to change conditions really confuses me. I don't ever know what is too much or not enough. I'm afraid that I will harm the fish. Especially when it comes to pH. How do you treat that in small amounts? I know all of the chemicals say not to increase it more than a certain amount within a 24 hour period. My tank is a 55 Gallon.
 

Salty Fishes

Salty Fishes

Large Fish
#2
Jul 6, 2004
240
0
0
36
Massachusetts
Visit site
#2
Do not change the pH with chemicals. Your fish will be fine at whatever pH your tap water is.

Get a test kit with test tubes and liquid chemicals, if possible, as they are far more accurate than testing strips. The Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Master Test Kit has all the basic test you'd need and is fairly reasonable. You can order it online at Big Al's if you want. You need an ammonia test kit as soon as possible.

I'm assuming that your tank is new and is cycling. You have a lot of fish for a cycling tank. 0.5ppm nitrite is a lot, and so is 80ppm of nitrate. You need to do a large water change as soon as possible. Water changes should be your only method of "treating" the water to change the conditions of the tank. And, during cycling, it will be the only thing that will save your fish.

You should consider buying some Bio-spira.

I hope that some of that made sense. :) It's late.
 

FreddyJ

FreddyJ

Large Fish
#3
May 5, 2006
187
0
0
#3
I have to agree with Salty Fishes on purchasing a more reliable test kit than those paper strips. I started with paper strips and switched over and my only regret was that I didn't get the test tube kit earlier. ;) I would do an immediate water change to get those nitrites and nitrates down. Aside from dechlorinator, I wouldn't add anything else to adjust the water. Good luck!
 

'-JIN-'

'-JIN-'

Large Fish
#5
Mar 21, 2006
393
1
0
Penang,Malaysia
#5
i think u should try to low down ur pH value,ur water seems to be alittle high,try to get your water pH value close to 7,but depends on what fish u have.Your nitrate are quite high,try to reduce it,it is best to keep them under 20 i think.but mostly people check their tank ammonia level.Try get ammonia test kit,they are very important,ammonia spike can cause your fish death.If u dont feel ur fish is doing right,i advie you to make water change.........
 

talk2mejjv

talk2mejjv

Small Fish
#6
May 5, 2006
39
0
0
#6
Water Change

Thanks everyone for you help. Ok, so when I do the water change. Is there anything I need to add to the new water besides dechlorinator? Will it be ok that the new water is a lot different from the established water? I'm going to do the water change today. Is there anything else I need to be aware of before I start? Thanks again to all those who replied.
 

Dennis-Pir

Dennis-Pir

Large Fish
#7
Feb 8, 2006
205
0
0
Vancouver,British Columbia
#7
Well is this a 'new tank' or an 'established tank' because as the above said it may still be cycling........... Beside dechlonrinator I wouldn't add anything, easiest way to change things like Ph and Nitrate is doing a water change, if its 55g I'd suggest a 40-50% change, to be on the safe side.

Just make sure the temperature is around the same as well.

And if you are really concerned about Ph you can check the Ph of your water coming out of the tap and that may be the problem.
 

Pure

Pure

Elite Fish
#8
Nov 1, 2005
3,216
7
0
Jacksonville, FL
#8
Everything seems like sounds advice besides the one post instructing you to mess with your PH. Honestly it's very hard to keep the PH steady with chemicals. Your PH you now have is just fine and isn't the cause of any distress. Your nitrite levels are the cause. Water changes should take care of that also.
 

talk2mejjv

talk2mejjv

Small Fish
#9
May 5, 2006
39
0
0
#9
Hey Everyone! I did a large water change yesterday and everything seems to be fine. All the fish look healthy and all is well. Thanks again for everyone who posted. My nitrite and nitrate levels are a lot lower now. I feel better about the pH now that everyone said it is going to be ok at that level. Thanks again.
 

SANND

SANND

Large Fish
#10
Jul 20, 2005
627
4
0
56
Washington, DC
#10
Good job!

You'll have to continue doing frequent water changes, possibly daily if the nitrates, nitrites continue to spike. Don't be afraid to do multiple water changes a day if you need to.

Have you gotten the ammonia test yet?
 

F

FishGeek

Elite Fish
#13
May 13, 2005
4,294
5
0
38
South Carolina
#13
Pure said:
Everything seems like sounds advice besides the one post instructing you to mess with your PH. Honestly it's very hard to keep the PH steady with chemicals. Your PH you now have is just fine and isn't the cause of any distress. Your nitrite levels are the cause. Water changes should take care of that also.
Click to expand...
I agree. The more that you use chemicals the less ablility that you water has to hold a pH. Thats why chmicals are such a proble, they mess with the water's natural abilities.

Congrats on getting things sorted out with your tank. *thumbsups
 

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